


Salvation

by DarkAliceLilith



Category: Heroes - Fandom
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-06-12
Updated: 2012-06-12
Packaged: 2017-11-07 14:18:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 14,697
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/432089
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DarkAliceLilith/pseuds/DarkAliceLilith
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sylar shows up at Peter’s apartment badly beaten. But Peter soon learns that Sylar is not in control of his abilities, and there’s another side to the killer that few ever knew about. Nathan, wanting to purge the world of specials, starts with Sylar. Now Peter must decide between betraying his brother or joining him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Part I

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the last round of Heroes Bigboom on Livejournal.

Thunder boomed outside and rain pounded against the windows. Peter sat in the middle of his bed, knees pulled to his chest. Two weeks had passed since the events surrounding both companies. Two weeks since he last spoke to Nathan. Or anyone else in his family.

A banging on the door to his apartment broke him out of his thoughts and he scrambled off the bed and onto his feet. For a moment, he thought it was just the thunder, but after a few moments the pounding started up again. Wondering who would be coming to visit him at this time of night, Peter made his way to the front door and peeked out of the peephole, but all he could see was black. Whoever it was, they wanted their identity hidden until the door was open.

Peter unlocked the door, but kept the chain on it as a precaution before cracking it open. His eyes widened when he saw Sylar on the other side. He almost slammed the door shut before he noticed something off about the other man.

The serial killer was covered in blood; that part didn’t surprise him. It was the fact that he had open cuts on him and he seemed to be breathing heavily. Sylar looked at him with pleading eyes and an earnest expression. Peter closed the door to undo the chain before opening it back up and letting the man in.

As Sylar walked in, Peter couldn’t help but notice how he was barely keeping himself upright; he leaned against the wall as soon as he made it through the doorway. Sylar managed a spacey smile and his voice was strained when he finally spoke. “I really didn’t think you’d let me in.”

Peter was about to reply when the man’s eyes rolled up and he started to fall. Peter caught him just before he hit the floor. He hefted the man up and got him on the couch. He knelt beside it and gave Sylar a glance over.

The bruised and battered form of his arch nemesis unsettled him. Why wasn’t Sylar healing? And why did he choose to come to him of all people? Peter pushed the thoughts aside and reached out, touching a nasty cut just above Sylar’s brow. It was deep and looked to be infected.

He caught sight of a bruise poking out from Sylar’s shirt and moved his hand down, pushing aside the fabric. He didn’t notice Sylar had awakened until there was a hand placed over his own. He looked up at Sylar and asked, “What happened to you?”

Sylar shook his head. “I’d rather not say.”

“Sylar, you’re hurt badly and I need to know-”

Sylar gave Peter’s hand a squeeze. “Please, just let me rest a bit.”

“Can I look you over first?”

Sylar nodded. “You may.”

Peter took the time to ask Sylar a few general questions as he looked him over a bit. After deducing that whatever was wrong with Sylar was not life-threatening, he stood up and gave him a comforting smile. “I think you’ll live.”

Sylar nodded. “I figured as much.”

“Get some rest and in the morning I can do a better job at looking you over.”

Sylar again nodded, already drifting off to sleep. “Thank you, Peter.”

Peter wondered what could have happened to drive Sylar to his apartment. And more importantly, why wasn’t he healing? He briefly wondered if someone had created yet another virus to eradicate abilities. Even if there was, there wasn’t much he could do about it at that moment. So he went into his bedroom and closed the door, hoping Sylar would be there in the morning for some questioning.

In the morning, Peter got up with his alarm and opened his bedroom doors. He leaned against the doorway when he saw that Sylar was still curled up on the couch fast asleep. Peter sighed softly as he watched the man sleep. Something in the back of his mind was telling him that this was not the same killer that he knew. He seemed like an entirely different person all together.

Sylar let out a sigh and opened his eyes, looking right at Peter. Peter felt his heart flutter a bit and quickly dismissed the feeling. “Morning.”

Sylar sat up and stretched, letting out a pained groan as he did so. He leaned against the arm of the couch and addressed Peter. “Morning to you too.”

Peter walked over and sat down next to the other man. “Did you sleep well?”

Sylar nodded. “I did.”

“So, how are you feeling?”

“Fine,” Sylar replied with a yawn. He glanced over at Peter. “Thank you, for taking me in. I really didn’t expect you to be so kind to me.”

“You needed my help. I don’t turn people like that away, even if they are serial killers.”

Sylar frowned at the last part and shrugged Peter’s hand off of his shoulder. “Well, like I said before, thank you.” He started to stand up. “I should leave now.”

Peter reached out and grabbed his arm. “Wait, you’re in no condition to go out there and besides, I haven’t finished checking you over.”

“I’m fine Peter, really,” Sylar said. “All I needed was some rest.”

Peter shook his head. “It would make me feel a lot better if you let me look you over. Or if you’re not comfortable with me doing it, then let a doctor. Please.”

Sylar looked over at him once more and nodded. “Fine. But no doctors.”

“Ok, but you should still come to work with me,” Peter said. “There’s better equipment there and if there is something really serious, then we’ll be in the right place to fix it.”

“I really don’t like hospitals.”

“It’ll be fine. I promise.”

“If you give me your word that there will be no doctors, then I‘ll come with you.”

Peter gave him a smile before standing up and making each of them a cup of coffee. He handed one over to Sylar when he came back into the front room and sat back down. “I have a little time before work, so maybe we can talk.”

“I suppose.”

“Do you-do you think you could tell me what happened.”

Sylar just stared into his coffee mug and went completely silent. It was several minutes before Sylar actually spoke. “I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time and I‘m sorry, but I really, really don‘t want to talk about it.”

Peter nodded. “I understand.”

They finished their coffee before Peter got ready for work. When he came back out, he was holding some clean clothes. “I thought that you would like some clean clothes,” Peter said, handing them over to Sylar. “These are too big for me, so they might be able to fit you.”

Sylar accepted them and stood up. “Thank you, again.”

Peter nodded and pointed towards the bathroom. “You can go ahead and get ready, and then we’ll leave.”

Sylar came back out a few moments later and Peter held in a laugh. The clothes were a bit small for Sylar, but they were clean and not covered in blood which was the important part. “So ready to go?”

Sylar nodded and they headed out of the building. Peter called a cab and they made their way to the hospital. When they arrived, Peter clocked in and told his ambulance partner to page him if he needed him before hauling Sylar off to an empty room. He closed the door and turned to look at Sylar. “Officially, you are not a patient. So if someone finds us I could get in a lot of trouble.”

Sylar hopped off the bed. “Then I should-”

“Sit back down.”

Sylar sat down and Peter stepped closer. Gently, he reached out and examined the cut above Sylar’s brow. It seemed well on its way to healing now. He ran his fingers down Sylar’s cheek and tilted the man’s head to look at the scratches on Sylar’s neck. “So, you’re not going to tell me what happened?”

Sylar shook his head. “I’d rather not.”

Peter nodded. “Very well, can you take off your shirt and jacket please? You looked like you were having some trouble breathing this morning.”

Peter didn’t miss the slight flush that Sylar’s face took on at the question. Sylar looked away for a moment, before taking his time, groaning as he took his shirt off. Peter raised an eyebrow when he saw the cause. There was a shallow gash running from Sylar’s left shoulder down to his right hip. He had seen a small glimpse of it when he had checked Sylar over the previous night, but hadn’t realized just how bad it was. Peter turned and went to the cabinet, grabbing out some antiseptic and some gauze. He cleaned out the wound, Sylar hissing as he did so.

It wasn’t until he started bandaging up Sylar’s chest did he ask his burning question. “Why aren’t you healing?”

Sylar shrugged. “I don’t know.”

“How can you not know?”

“My abilities just stopped working.”

Peter had a feeling that Sylar was hiding something from him, but he didn‘t press. If Sylar didn’t feel like telling him, then it wasn’t his place to make him. “Are there any more injuries?”

Sylar reached down and lifted up his pant leg. “I don’t think it’s broken, but it still hurts to walk on.”

Peter knelt down in front of Sylar. He poked and prodded, before agreeing that it was not broken. He got it wrapped up and decided that Sylar was fine. “Well, I think you’re good to go.”

Sylar got dressed and hopped off the bed once more. “Thank you, Peter.”

“It’s no problem,” Peter said. “Just take some time to rest. Make sure to elevate that leg. Since it’s still a relatively new injury use an ice pack for about thirty minutes at a time, and then in a few days we’ll switch to a heating pad.”

Sylar nodded. “Thank you, again.”

Peter smiled at him. “Would you like me to call you a cab back to my place?”

“Oh, you don’t have to do that.”

“I’m just trying to help you, Sylar. Please, let me do this for you.”

“Okay.”

Peter reached into his pocket and pulled out his keys, taking his apartment key off it and handing it over to Sylar. “Here’s the key and I’ll go phone you a cab.”

Peter called a cab and walked Gabriel to the entrance before making his way to the garage. He found Hesam sitting in the back of their ambulance sipping on some coffee. He looked up as Peter approached. “And where have you been?”

“A friend got hurt,” Peter replied, sitting down next to Hesam. “And I had to make sure that he was okay.”

Hesam was about to say something else when the radio dispatch came through signaling that they had a job to do. They climbed into the front of the ambulance and headed off.

When his shift ended for the day, Peter stopped by a Mexican takeout place and ordered some food before returning home. Since he had left his key with Sylar, Peter knocked to be let in. As soon as Sylar opened the door, Peter smiled and handed him one of the takeout boxes. “I brought home some food! Hope you like Mexican.”

Sylar took the box and nodded. “Thanks.”

Peter nodded towards Sylar’s leg. “And you made sure to stay off of that?”

“Yes, Peter. I laid on the couch all day.”

“You could have taken the bed,” Peter said, turning his back and missing the flush developing on Sylar’s face. “Much more comfortable.”

“N-no. The couch was fine.”

Peter shrugged and grabbed out some forks before sitting down at the table. Sylar sat down across from him and accepted the fork being held out to him. “I feel like I don’t deserve any of this.”

“Any of what?”

“Any of your kindness,” Sylar replied. “I don’t even know why I came here last night.”

“Maybe because you needed help.”

“But there was no guarantee that you would help me,” Sylar replied. “For all I knew, you would have taken in my condition and tried to kill me right there and then.”

“It flashed through my mind.”

Sylar nodded and pushed his food around. “What made you not kill me?”

“I don’t know,” Peter said quietly. “I just had a feeling that you really needed my help.”

“I do need your help,” Sylar confessed. “I want to change. I want people to not be afraid of me anymore. I’m tired of being the villain because in the end the villain is lonely. I don’t want that anymore.”

Peter reached over and put his hand on Sylar’s arm. “If you are truly ready to change, then I will help you. I don’t think that this is something that you can go through alone.”

“Thank you, Peter. That’s very kind of you.”

“You’re welcome.”

As the days passed, Peter found that he had gained a roommate. Not that he minded very much. It gave him a chance to keep an eye on the former villain and allowed him to witness his change. At least, that’s what Peter told himself.

He tried questioning Sylar to find out what was going on with him. He even went to the length of threatening him, but Sylar would simply fall silent and stare at the door. When Peter pressed him, Sylar finally told him that if Peter absolutely had to know, then he’d leave. Peter didn’t want that, so he stopped questioning. This didn’t mean that Peter was going to desist in trying to discover the truth.

Sylar was in the kitchen grabbing something out of the fridge when Peter came through and grabbed his coat, putting it on. Sylar asked, “Where are you going?”

“Out for a little bit,” Peter replied. “I’ll be back soon.”

Sylar nodded and went back into the front room. Peter thought about staying, but he needed to know more than Sylar was willing to tell him. He left and hailed a cab, giving the driver his mother’s address.

Peter’s mind was running on overdrive when he arrived at his mother’s house. He had told Sylar he wasn’t going to ask anymore, but he just couldn’t not know what happened either. He needed to know about Sylar’s past so he went to the only person he could think of who would know.

And in doing this, he felt like he was betraying Sylar’s trust. It was this thought that almost had him turning back around. Instead, he knocked on the door and waited for a servant to let him in. The servant told him his mother was in the garden and he headed out that way. She was sitting there, talking on the phone.

“I’ll call you back later, Nathan,” Angela said when she caught sight of Peter. “I have some company over.” She hung up and placed the phone aside. “Well, what brings you out here, Peter?”

“I need you to tell me everything you know about Sylar,” Peter said. “I know you still have his files and I want to see them.”

Angela stared at Peter for a long moment before reaching over on the table beside her and picking up her drink. She took a sip before answering archly, “Unfortunately, all the Company’s files have been taken. I know nothing.”

“Bullshit,” Peter said. “I know you read his files more than once. What do you know?”

“What more do you need to know? He’s a serial killer, Peter. There’s nothing special about him.”

Peter let out an aggravated sigh. “Because I fear there may be something wrong with him.”

“Why do you even care, Peter?”

“I care because I’ve seen him lately and he’s really messed up. Something is wrong with him and I need to understand what it is. He saved my life Ma, I feel like I need to repay the favor.”

Angela was silent for a long moment. “You said he’s messed up. How is he messed up?”

“He came to my apartment beaten and bloody and unable to heal himself,” Peter replied. “I believe that he’s powerless and I think maybe he was infected-”

“It’s not an infection.”

“Excuse me?”

“He’s not infected with anything, and he’s not powerless,” Angela replied. “He simply can’t access his abilities. In fact, I don’t think he knows how.”

“Well, now I’m confused.”

“You know nothing of his past, do you?”

“He won’t tell me.”

Angela took another sip of her drink before speaking. “Gabriel Gray was diagnosed with split personality when he was ten. The personality called itself Sylar, after a watch brand. Gabriel received psychological treatment until they were able to suppress the personality. It didn’t reappear again until Dr. Suresh made a visit to him.”

Peter stared at his mother in shock. “Split personality?”

Angela nodded. “So you should be careful of the man in your apartment, Peter. You never know when he might switch.”

“Are you implying he’s unstable?”

Angela nodded again. “Anxiety, anger, pain, depression, any of that could make Sylar come out in seconds. At least, that’s how it was when he was a child.”

“How did they prevent it?”

“We sent a telepath to suppress the personality.”

“Why didn’t you just round him up like every other special?”

“Because he was a child,” Angela replied. “And though I knew that he would become a killer, I thought that suppressing the personality would prevent that. But I was wrong.”

“And what about now? What’s the future have in store for him?”

Angela looked at her son for a long moment before he answered. “I haven’t seen anything yet, but you should still be careful.”

“Thank you, Ma,” Peter said. “I’ll see you later.”

“Goodbye, Peter.”

When Peter returned to his apartment, he spotted Sylar in the kitchen, stirring something on the stove. Peter hung his coat up and leaned against the wall, watching Sylar for a few minutes. In his head, he tried to decide who the other man was at that moment. Was he Gabriel? Or was he Sylar?

Peter took a deep breath before speaking. “Gabriel?” The man stopped, but didn’t address him. Peter continued on. “So, that’s who you are right now? Gabriel?”

It took a few moments for the man to respond. He slowly nodded before going back to stirring. “Yes. My name is Gabriel.”

“If your name is Gabriel, then why have you been letting me call you Sylar?”

Gabriel looked over his shoulder at Peter. “If I had told you that I had another personality, would you have believed me?”

“Still, you could have asked me to call you Gabriel and I would have called you that.”

Gabriel shook his head. “It doesn’t matter what people call me. I’m still just going to be a monster to them.”

Peter came up beside him and gently laid his hand on Gabriel’s shoulder. “You’re not a monster. I can just feel that you’re not anymore.”

“I’ve only been here a week,” Gabriel said. “I really don’t think that’s enough time to make a judgment.”

“With or without my ability, I’m still an empath,” Peter said. “And my empathy tells me that you’re not the same person who shoved me off a school stadium in Texas.”

Gabriel turned and looked at Peter, searching his eyes for the truth. He seemed to find the answer he wanted and nodded. “That’s very kind of you, Peter.”

Peter smiled at him as he dropped his hand back to his side. “So, what’s for dinner?”

“Mac and cheese,” Gabriel replied. “And it will be done soon if you were wondering that as well.”

“Ok, I’ll leave you to finish that now,” Peter replied as he turned towards the cabinet over the sink. “And I’ll get the table set for us.”

When dinner was ready, Peter went and sat down at the table. Gabriel came in with two plates. He set one down in front of Peter and the other down across from him. As they sat, Peter couldn’t help but notice how Gabriel was pushing his food around his plate more than actually eating it. “Something wrong?”

Gabriel shook his head before taking a bite. “I’m just not as hungry as I thought I was. I should tell you something now that you know about Sylar. All this time, ever since I found out about my ability, he’s been in control. I feel the need to apologize because I know that I hurt you, even if I don’t remember doing so.”

“If that’s true, then you never hurt me,” Peter said. “Sylar did.”

“But he used me to do it and I feel like that I need to pay for that.”

“Well, you don’t,” Peter said, gently. “That wasn’t something that was in your control. If anyone needs to apologize to me, it’s Sylar. Not you.”

Gabriel smiled softly. “Thank you.”

Peter returned the smile. “You’re welcome.”

Gabriel walked off to the kitchen and disposed of his food before going into the front room and curling on the couch with a book. When Peter finished his dinner, he came out and sat on the other side of the couch, flipping on the TV, though he found that he wasn’t paying much attention to it.

Gabriel looked up when he felt eyes on him and turned to look at Peter. “What?”

Peter shook his head and looked back at the TV. “Nothing.” Gabriel nodded and went back to his book, looking a bit uncomfortable. Peter noticed. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have been staring.”

“It’s fine,” Gabriel replied. “It’s just, I’m not used to getting attention.”

“I went out today so I could learn the truth,” Peter said. “I asked my mother about you, which was rude of me, but I felt like you wouldn’t tell me.”

Gabriel was quiet for several seconds and when he spoke his voice was quiet. “I never knew about him. I used to black out all the time as a child and I would do a lot of things and not remember them. I ended up being hospitalized and he never appeared again. It was when that doctor, the one who was studying specials, I think his name was Suresh, came around that the blackouts began once more.”

“When did you get control back?”

“After the Pinehearst explosion.”

“And what did you do then?”

“I tried to go back home.”

“What happened?”

“They found me.”

“Who found you?” Peter asked, but Gabriel went silent. “Gabriel, who found you?”

“Men working for the government,” Gabriel replied. “They tried to capture me and I managed to escape.”

“Did you see any of them?”

After a long pause, Gabriel shook his head. “No, I didn’t. I’m sorry.”

“Then how do you know they were from the government?”

“It said SWAT on the back of their uniforms. I think that pretty much gave it away,” Gabriel replied.

“So, is that how you got all beat up?”

Gabriel nodded. “Can we talk about something else? Please?”

Peter nodded. “Yes, we can.”


	2. Part II

Peter didn’t have to work the next day and when he awoke, he noted how nice it was outside. He stepped out into the kitchen where Gabriel was already sipping on his coffee. Peter made himself a cup before addressing the other man. “Do you want to go out with me today?” Peter asked. “Go see a movie or something?”

Gabriel smiled softly. “Yeah, that sounds nice.”

“Great. Just pick a time and we can head out.”

“We can go once I finish my coffee,” Gabriel said. “I mean, if that’s okay.”

“That sounds fine.”

They finished up and got dressed and ready before heading outside. They decided on just walking to one of the diners by the apartment to have some breakfast. They got seated and ordered before Peter decided that he wanted to know more about the other man. They had talked, but Peter still felt like he didn’t know Gabriel at all.

“So you’ve been a watchmaker your whole life?”

Gabriel nodded. “I used to watch my dad before he walked out on us.”

“Your dad walked out on you?”

Gabriel nodded. “Yeah, I was like nine. He said he was going out for a smoke, but then he never returned. I haven’t seen him since.”

“I’m sorry.”

“I don’t remember much of him anyway.”

“Then what made you become a watchmaker?”

“I thought-I thought that if I could make my dad proud, then maybe he would come back,” Gabriel replied. “But it didn’t matter. I don’t think he ever loved me.”

“And what about your mother? What is she like?”

Gabriel looked down and went silent. Peter was about to tell him he didn’t have to tell him if it was too personal a question when Gabriel spoke. “I loved my mother, even though she was a bit crazy and I knew that she loved me, but I don’t think I was ever special enough for her. All I wanted was her approval, but it never came.”

“If it helps, I never got the approval of my parents either,” Peter said. “Nathan was the spoiled one and I was just the screw up.”

“I don‘t think that you are a screw up.”

Peter shrugged. “It used to bother me a lot when I was a teenager, and when my dad was still alive before his ‘heart attack’, but now? Now I could care less. I don’t want my mother’s approval anymore because I know that I will never get it.”

“I wish that I had your attitude about that a long time ago,” Gabriel said. “Maybe I wouldn’t have unleashed Sylar and maybe I wouldn’t have killed my mother.” Gabriel bowed his head and closed his eyes. “I don’t even know what happened. We were fighting and then she was on the ground and … and …”

Peter stood up and slid into Gabriel’s side of the booth and put his arm around him. “I’m so sorry. That’s a horrible thing to have happen to you.” Gabriel sniffled and nodded, but stayed otherwise quiet. Peter held him a little tighter. “In the future I killed my brother, so I can relate a little bit.”

“You what?”

“There was a future that I visited and I accidentally killed my brother because I gained access to your power.”

“You killed Nathan?”

“By accident.”

“Somehow it’s hard to believe that you would kill anyone, even if it was by accident.”

“I tried to kill my dad.”

“You did?”

Peter looked at him in confusion. “You were there, you stopped me.”

Gabriel shook his head. “I told you, Sylar’s been in control this whole time.”

“So you don’t remember anything that’s happened? At all?”

Again, Gabriel shook his head. “Not really.”

“Oh, I thought-”

“It’s ok,” Gabriel said. “I never told you, so you wouldn’t know.”

“What about your abilities? Can you access them?”

“No, I can’t. Not without unleashing Sylar.”

The waitress came over with their food, so they stopped talking for the moment. Peter decided to stay next to Gabriel, which earned them a look from the waitress. Each of them had gotten toast, bacon and eggs. So they discontinued their conversation for the moment and decided to focus on eating instead.

When they finished, Peter paid for the food and he dragged Gabriel down to the movie theater. They got inside and Peter looked at the movies listed before turning to Gabriel. “So what movie are you interested in seeing right now?”

Gabriel shrugged. “I don’t really know. You can pick one though.”

So Peter went up to the counter and got them both tickets for one of the sci-fi movies showing. He then ordered them both snacks before going into the theater and sitting down.

“If this movie sucks,” Peter said with a smile. “I give you permission to slap me for picking it.”

Gabriel smiled back. “Noted.”

They fell into silence as the movie began, Peter occasionally glancing at Gabriel out of the corner of his eye. He hadn’t even known Gabriel for that long, but there was something about him that really caught Peter’s attention.

Peter wanted to believe that it was because of the fact that he had always been drawn to people who needed help and he did feel drawn to Gabriel. He wanted to be his friend, but he also wanted to be more than that.

Out of impulse, Peter slowly slid his hand over and placed it over the top of Gabriel’s. He felt Gabriel’s hand twitch and he glanced at the man to see him staring at their hands, trying to decide what to do. Peter waited for a few minutes to see if Gabriel would do anything and when he didn’t, Peter threaded his fingers through Gabriel’s and gave his hand a gentle squeeze.

With the light coming off the screen, Peter could see Gabriel’s eyebrows jump up and for a moment Peter wondered if he had misread things. Feeling a little deflated, Peter pulled his hand back and wrapped his arms around himself, feeling a little embarrassed.

Peter was so busy cursing himself in his head that he jumped when he felt an arm wrap around his shoulders. He glanced over at Gabriel who looked at bit uncertain in what he was doing. Peter smiled and leaned against Gabriel, placing his head on the other man’s shoulder. They spent the rest of the movie like that and Peter felt himself smiling like an idiot.

When the movie ended and they were walking out of the theater, Peter slid his hand into Gabriel’s. Gabriel glanced down at their hands before looking forward again. Peter smiled and they walked back to Peter’s place, chatting about the movie along the way.

Peter unlocked his apartment door and stepped aside to allow Gabriel to enter first. When he got in and closed the door, he pulled Gabriel close and looked up at him. “Did you have fun?”

Gabriel nodded, a slight blush beginning to spread across his face. “Yeah.”

Peter smiled and started to lean in. They were inches apart when he heard a cough from the living room. Peter looked over to see Nathan standing there. He stepped away from Gabriel and addressed his brother. “Nathan? What the hell are you doing in my apartment?”

Nathan’s eyes flickered to Gabriel before he looked at his brother. “So I guess it’s true, then. You did take a monster into your apartment.”

Peter stepped in front of Gabriel. “Gabriel is not a monster.”

“Oh, so you’re on a first name basis now?”

Peter felt his anger flare hotter. “Why are you here, Nathan?”

“I came to talk to you,” Nathan replied. “In private if we could.”

Peter turned to look at Gabriel and reached out, giving his hand a gentle squeeze. “I’ll see what he wants and then we can think about that dessert, ok?”

Gabriel nodded and Peter led Nathan into the bedroom and closed the door. “Now what do you want?”

“To save the world, Pete,” Nathan replied.

Peter looked at him suspiciously. “Save the world? How come I have a feeling that that won’t go so well?”

“I have a plan, Peter.”

“And what is this plan, exactly?”

“I’m going to lock up specials,” Nathan replied. “Starting with the one in your front room.”

Peter’s eyes widened and he turned to call out to Gabriel when Nathan grabbed him and held him back. Through the glass he saw Bennet coming up behind Gabriel. Nathan covered Peter’s mouth to prevent him from calling out just as Bennet tasered Gabriel. “NO!” Peter yelled, but it was too late.

Peter struggled against his brother, but he didn’t count on Nathan having a taser of his own. The last thing he saw was Bennet dragging Gabriel away.

Peter woke up several hours later. He was in the middle of his bed and it was dark outside. He remembered the events that happened and shot out of bed, grabbing his phone out of his pocket and dialing his brother.

“Where is he?” Peter yelled out as soon as his brother answered. “What did you do with him?”

“I locked him away, just as you should have done instead of letting him in,” Nathan replied. “You have a good heart, Pete, but he won’t change. No matter what you do.”

“Nathan, you really don’t know what you’re dealing with. He’s unstable.”

“That’s exactly why he needs to be locked up.”

“Nathan! You really don’t understand!”

“You’re not going to change my mind. Besides, it’s going to be so much fun to see how long it will take him to break in the condition that he’s in,” Nathan said before hanging up.

Peter threw his phone against the bed and yelled out in frustration. He was going to get Gabriel back, no matter what the cost was.

Nathan slipped his phone in his pocket and grabbed the bucket of ice water off the table. He looked down at the chained prisoner before him. He threw the water on the man, waking him up. Gabriel sat up and looked around wildly, before his gaze landed on Nathan.

The man let out a quiet whimper and Nathan raised an eyebrow. “Cut the act, Sylar. My brother’s not around for you to toy with.”

“I’m-I’m-I’m not toying with him!” Gabriel called out, tugging at the chains around his wrists that were keeping him to the floor. “He’s my friend!”

Nathan laughed. “Killers don’t have friends.”

“But-”

Nathan kicked Gabriel in the side and Gabriel let out pained yelp, holding his side. He tried to curl into himself even more, staring up at Nathan in fear. Nathan knelt down, careful not to ruin his suit, and looked Gabriel in the eye. “Welcome to your new home, Sylar.”

Gabriel’s eyes flickered to the syringe that Nathan was pulling out and tried to struggle away. Nathan grabbed Gabriel’s arm and shoved the needle into it, making Gabriel whimper in pain. He dispensed the liquid and let go of Gabriel, watching as he spasmed for a few seconds before going limp. Nathan looked at the killer, a little disappointed that he hadn’t put up a fight.

He stood up and wiped the dust off the knee of his pants and walked out of the room, closing the door behind him. Bennet was at the end of the hallway and buzzed him out. He hoped that Peter would be unable to follow Sylar’s trail, or they would be in some serious trouble. He knew just how determined his brother was and he seemed a little too attached to that monster.

Though, if he really had to, he could probably lock up his brother as well. Peter always had a habit of running off ever since he was a child and due to Nathan’s connections with the government, he could throw them off Peter’s trail and make his brother to be presumed dead. Of course, his mother would probably figure it out, but what could she really do about it? She probably wouldn’t even care what happened to Peter.

Angela awoke abruptly from her nap. The image of her son’s dead body burned into her brain. She quickly found her phone and dialed up her oldest. Nathan barely got his greeting out when she spoke. “What are you up to, Nathan?”

“Me? I’m not up to anything, Ma.”

“Nathan Petrelli, don’t you lie to me,” Angela said sternly. “I saw something, Nathan. Something horrible and I don’t want it to happen, so whatever you are doing, stop it right now.”

“I’m trying to make the world a safer place,” Nathan said. “I’m not going to stop because of some dream that may or may not happen. The future changes, Ma, you should know that more than anyone.”

“Certain events change, other stay constant,” Angela said. “Please Nathan. I don’t want any casualties out of this. I am begging you to stop what you are doing.”

“I’ll think about it,” Nathan answered before hanging up on her.

Angela held the phone to her chest and closed her eyes. She needed to find a way to stop whatever Nathan was planning to do. Without hesitation, she called Peter.

“Hello?”

“Hello, Peter.”

Peter sat up. “Ma?”

“It has come to my attention that your brother is planning something big and whatever it is, it’s going to get people killed.”

“He’s rounding up specials, Mom,” Peter replied. “And-and he took Gabriel, just a few hours ago. Him and Bennet practically ambushed us in my own apartment and took him away.”

“And you’re probably going to do something stupid, aren’t you? Is he even worth it, Peter?” Angela asked. “Is he worth the risk of someone else’s life?”

Peter thought about it for a long moment before answering. “He’s worth the risk.”

“And what if I said that it was your brother’s life that you were risking?”

Peter felt a stab in his chest and he closed his eyes. “Nathan made his decision and I have to stop him.”

“He’s your brother, Peter!”

“I won’t let Gabriel die, Mother,” Peter said. “I promise you that I will make sure that Nathan stays alive. But Nathan‘s going to torture him! And I can‘t let that happen!”

“He’s a monster, Peter! He deserves to be locked up!”

“Yeah, Sylar deserves to be locked up, but not Gabriel.”

“Peter-”

“Mom, I don’t want to hear anything else that you have to say unless it will help me set Gabriel free,” Peter said. “Nathan’s going to do something horrible to him, and I can not allow that.”

“Peter, I can’t help you.”

“Goodbye, Mother,” Peter said before hanging up. He put his phone in his pocket and got up. He didn’t have any more time to waste if he wanted to save Gabriel. He found his laptop and opened it up, contacting Micah. If anyone could find an electronic trail, it was that kid.

A few seconds later the words ‘Building 26. Washington. D.C.’ appeared on the screen. Peter took a minute to thank the kid before packing a bag. He managed to book a last minute flight to D.C.


	3. Part III

It had been nearly a week since Angela had heard from either of her sons, but she knew exactly what they were planning to do. She had been seeing it in her dreams for days before Nathan kidnapped Gabriel. She didn’t approve of either of their actions, but they were both Petrelli men, which meant they were incredibly stubborn.

In the past week, Peter had broken into a few buildings while searching for Gabriel, and Nathan had managed to capture a few more specials. Nathan was become bolder and she knew that he would soon be approaching the president about capturing specials on a large scale.

A part of her actually hoped that Peter did end up preventing Nathan from taking his plans too far. She had a feeling that they were only going to end in disaster. The other part of her was telling her to stop Peter and prevent Nathan’s demise.

That part of her had her getting in contact with Claire. She hoped that maybe Claire would be able to put an end to Peter’s plans. She feared for the safety of her sons and prayed that no harm came to either of them.

Peter made his way back to his hotel after making sure he lost any pursuers. He dug around in his pocket and was just turning the key in the lock when he was startled by a familiar voice. “Hello, Peter.”

Peter turned to see Claire leaning against the railing. “Claire?”

“So, this is where you’ve been hiding out?”

“How did you find me?”

Claire pushed off the railing, crossing her arms. “Don’t worry, no one else but your mother knows where you are.”

“So she sent you?”

“She told me that you were attempting to save Sylar and sabotage Nathan’s plans. Is there any truth to that?”

“I’m not saving Sylar,” Peter said. “I’m saving Gabriel.”

“Just because you call him a different name, it doesn’t mean that he’s a different person.”

“You haven’t seen him,” Peter said. “You don’t know him.”

“And you do? He was at your apartment for what? A month?” Claire asked. “Your mother told me a lot about what was going on. How do you know that he wasn’t just faking to gain your trust and then hurt you later?”

“I don’t know that,” Peter replied. “But I believe that he’s a different person.”

“Peter, I think that you trust too easily and that’s what gets you hurt. And I think that you going to save Sylar is not going to end well. You are going to get hurt and there’s a chance that other people will get hurt as well.”

“Why can’t anyone just accept what I’m doing?” Peter snapped. “My mother and my father, my brother and now you. No one is ever happy with anything I do.”

“Because people keep getting hurt!”

“Claire, why don’t you just leave and tell my mother to just leave me alone? You can leave me alone as well.”

“Peter, I just want to help.”

“Just leave Claire,” Peter said. “Now.”

Claire stared at him for a few minutes before turning and walking away. Peter watched her until she was out of sight before making his way into his room. He shut and locked the door before sitting down at the small table in the room. He reached into the bag he was carrying and pulled out some blueprints for Building 26.

Unfortunately, the blue prints didn’t show any cells on them. Which meant that either they were not included on the blueprints or Nathan was keeping Gabriel in a different building. Based on his searches so far, he decided that it had to been the latter and got his laptop out, searching for possible buildings.

As his laptop booted up, he closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose wishing for the clamoring in his brain to cease. He was tired and frustrated. Frustrated with his family and angry at himself for the fact that he hadn’t found Gabriel yet.

He was in the middle of a search when Micah, who had been helping him, sent him paperwork for the transport of a prisoner to an old mental facility that went out of business years ago. Another piece of paperwork was sent to him stating that the facility was to be reopened for extremely dangerous criminals.

Peter signed off and made a mental note to check the facility out the following day. He would check the security of the place and where it would be easier to break in. Then of course he’d have to figure out how to break in. He could always knock out a guard and steal their clothes. He did have telekinesis, so that could help for something.

*****************

Gabriel sat in the corner of his prison cell, staring blankly at the opposite wall. There was a gash along his arm and he had a black eye amongst other injuries. The door opened and he tried to make himself as small as possible before he realized that whoever it was wasn’t going to beat him again. A metal tray was set down on the bed before the person walked back out. It took Gabriel several seconds to realize that it was his single, paltry meal for the day.

He slowly got up and limped his way over to the food tray. Today, there was some kind of meat, a small glass of water and an apple. He reached out and grabbed the plate with the meat, wondering why Nathan was allowing him to be fed at all.

He grabbed the cup as well and went back to his corner savoring his meager meal. For the first few days he had been starved and beaten. He had lost track of time and was beginning to lose hope that he would ever see Peter again.

Inside, he could feel Sylar trying to come out, but Gabriel repressed him as much as he could. He didn’t need another reason to get beaten, even if it meant that he would get out of here. Besides, Sylar would probably slaughter everyone on his way out and Gabriel couldn’t deal with the thought of even more blood on his hands.

Gabriel had just finished up the meat, which he was sure was on its way to rotting and was debating how to eat the apple. He had a few loose teeth from being beaten the previous day, so biting into the apple was going to be painful.

The door to his cell opened and this time, it was Nathan. Gabriel felt fear spread through out him. Nathan glanced at him before staring at a spot on the wall.

“I really wish that whatever spell you put on my brother would just vanish,” Nathan replied, still not looking at him. “I’m telling you now that if he does come here and tries to rescue you, I won’t stop my guards.”

Gabriel dared to speak. “And what will they do to him?”

Nathan finally looked at him, his eyes cold. “They have guns. Use your imagination.”

Gabriel’s eyes widened. “He’s your brother! You can’t let them kill him.”

“My brother was a mistake,” Nathan spit out. “He‘s nothing more than a bastard child. He’s not even my father’s son, he’s the product of my mother’s affair with someone at the Company. My father should have made her give Peter up when he was born.”

Gabriel could feel the rage inside him build. The last thing he remembered before blacking out was a look of fear on Nathan’s face. When he came to again, there were shackles on his ankles and wrists keeping him in place. Gabriel curled in on himself, fresh cuts and bruises covering him. “Sylar, you should have stayed out of it.” He closed his eyes and shed a tear, praying to a God he had stopped believing in years ago.

**********

Peter rubbed at his eyes, trying to keep awake. If he slept, then he lost valuable time and he had already wasted a week on false leads. Before he knew it though, his eyes had shut and he was drifting off.

“Hey, Peter. Peter, wake up.”

Peter turned over and opened his eyes to see Gabriel lying beside him. He reached over and grabbed Gabriel, hugging him tightly. “Gabriel, you’re here.”

Gabriel nodded and returned the hug. “Of course I’m here. I feel safe around you.”

“You feel safe around me? You do know that I attract nothing but danger, right?”

“You’re a hero, of course you are going to attract danger. I mean, I’m here, right?”

Peter shook his head. “You’re not dangerous. You wouldn’t hurt a fly.”

“If the fly was trying to hurt you in some way, I would,” Gabriel replied. “I would do anything to make sure that you are safe, Peter.”

“You don’t have to do anything at all.”

“Yes, I do,” Gabriel replied. “I really like you, Peter. I want to protect you.”

Peter felt his heart beginning to beat faster as Gabriel started to lean in towards his face. Soft, brown eyes looked into his own, so different from the hard eyes of a killer he had seen merely weeks ago. Gabriel brought his hand up to Peter’s cheek, his breath ghosting over his lips.

Peter went to close the distance when he was woke up abruptly by his phone. He frowned as he realized the moment between him and Gabriel was nothing more than a dream. He reached over and grabbed his phone. When he saw that it was his niece, he pressed ignore and put it back in his pocket. After the small fight they had over what Peter was doing, he wasn’t in the mood to talk to her.

He sat up and stretched. Falling asleep in a wooden chair was not ideal. He looked down at the blueprints and rolled them back up. He didn’t really need them any more. Instead he opened up his laptop so that he could look up the address to the mental facility Gabriel was probably being held at.

Later that day he went out and scouted the area of the facility, trying to find a way in as well as a way back out once he had Gabriel again. When he returned to his hotel room he was surprised to find Claire leaning against the door. He told her, “I thought I told you to leave me alone.”

“Well, since I can’t stop you,” Claire started as she pushed her way in. “Maybe I’ll join you.”

“And why would you do that?”

“I found my dad’s laptop,” Claire replied. “And he’s streaming the video footage from the cells. So, I made the mistake of taking a peek.”

She went over to the table and grabbed her father’s laptop out of her bag. She opened it and clicked a few buttons before stepping aside to allow Peter to see. He felt his heart want to break as he saw Gabriel curled up in the corner of a cell. The image was a little blurry, but he could see spots and smears of blood on the floor. He reached out and touched the image of Gabriel. “What have they done to you?”

“When I first watched, they were beating him,” Claire said. “He begged them to stop. Begged them. That was my first clue that something wasn’t right. Sylar wouldn’t beg anyone for anything.”

“That’s because he’s not Sylar,” Peter replied. “Sylar is a personality that he developed as a child and who managed to take control of him for a little while. That man on the screen,” Peter dropped his hand away, “that’s Gabriel Gray. He’s my friend and I’m going to save him.”

“If you truly believe that man is Gabriel and not Sylar, then I will trust your judgment. And I will find a way to get you in there.”

Peter looked up at her, smiling. “Thank you, Claire. This really means a lot to me.”

Claire took a seat at the table. “You’re welcome. Now let’s plan this out.”

They went over some ideas before deciding that the best course of action would be for Claire to turn Peter over to Nathan. Peter was a little skeptical at first, but agreed to it in the end.

“But before we charge in there, guns blazing,” Claire chided him after he nearly dozed off in his seat for the second time, “I really think that you need to get some sleep.”

“I’ll be fine.”

Claire shook her head and dragged him over to the bed. “Get some sleep and in the morning, we’ll head out.”

Peter gave her a look, but he was too tired to resist. His head had barely touched the pillow when he had succumbed to sleep.


	4. Part IV

Claire tapped Peter on the shoulder and as soon as he turned around, he found himself reeling back from a punch. “What the fuck?”

Claire looked at him apologetically. “Sorry, I need to make this look convincing.”

“You could have warned me first!”

“Sorry, can I punch you again?”

“Hell no!” Peter said, massaging the spot just under his eye where she hit him. “No more hitting me.”

“I don’t think that one bruise will be convincing enough.”

Peter frowned and after a few moments he dropped his hand. “Fine, just don’t hit my face again.”

“Fine, I won’t hit your face again,” Claire replied, as she aimed right for his side. “But I gotta make it look like there was a bit of a struggle.”

“Somehow I don’t think that they are going to believe that you took me down, no matter how many bruises I have.”

“Well, that’s an easy one. I just tell them that I gained your trust before catching you off guard,” Claire replied, punching him in the arm and taking a step back. “I think that that should be fine.”

Peter rubbed the spot on his arm where she had hit him. “Okay, now what?”

“Now you get in the car and pretend to be knocked out when we reach Building 26.”

“Building 26? Why not go straight to the facility?”

“You’ll get there, I promise.”

“This better work.”

“It will,” Claire said before looking around the room. “Now we just need something to tie your hands up with.”

“You’re not tying my hands together.”

“Why not? You let me punch you,” Claire said before grabbing the cord to the phone in room and tearing it out of the wall and the phone. “Don’t worry, I’ll pay for this. Now give me your hands.”

“How do I know you won’t just tie me up and throw me to Nathan and be done with all of this?”

Claire held out the wire. “Would you like to tie me up instead and make me your hostage?”

“Then Nathan would definitely be able to tell that something is up.”

Claire walked over and loosely tied his wrist together. “There, now you can easily escape if you want.” When she finished, she looked up at him. “You must really care about Gabriel if you’re willing to risk your life to free him.”

Peter nodded. “It’s funny. I only knew him for a week, but I feel something for him. Like a sort of connection. I haven’t really figured out what kind of connection, but there’s something between us. It could just be that he needs me to save him but-”

“But you really care about him.” Claire nodded towards the door. “Come on, let’s go get him back.”

She drove him to Building 26 and called Nathan. Peter pretended to be knocked out when Nathan came out of the building with some guards. Peter listened to Claire tell them exactly what they planned out earlier in the hotel room and Nathan was gullible enough to believe her.

The guards roughly grabbed Peter out of the backseat and brought him into the building, throwing him into what Peter could only assume was a temporary cell. The door was shut and he was ignored for a while. He got up and walked over to the door, pressing his ear against it. It was too thick for him to hear through, so he sat down and waited.

Claire followed Nathan into a large room where people were monitoring videos and phone calls and others seemed to be searching for the whereabouts of other specials. Her father was sitting at one of the computers and he stood up when she walked in. “Claire? What are you doing here?”

“She brought Peter to us,” Nathan replied, taking a seat at one of the desks. “Seems like he put up a fight.”

“Well, he trusts way too easy,” Claire said as she leaned against the wall. “So, now that you have him, what will you do with him?”

“Keep him out of the way,” Nathan replied.

“If you wanted him out of the way, then why didn’t you capture him sooner? I’m sure that you could have spared the manpower to do it.”

“Because he’s been a mere mosquito,” Bennet said. “So we didn’t do anything about it. We were waiting for him to come to us, but you solved that one for us.” He walked over and gave her a hug. With his back turned to Nathan he whispered in her ear. “I left the laptop out for a reason. Thank you.”

Claire showed no signs of hearing him, but hugged him back. “You’re welcome, Dad.”

Bennet stepped back and stood beside her. “Where are we taking him?”

“Leave him in that room for now,” Nathan replied, as he grabbed the folder from the pile on his desk and flipped it open. “I’ll think of where to put him later.”

“What about that facility you’re using?” Claire asked.

Nathan looked up at her with a suspicious look. “How do you know about that?”

“Umm...”

“She saw something about it on my laptop,” Bennet replied. “I let her use it without closing out of a file. It was my fault. Besides, Claire’s not one to deceive us, right Claire-bear?”

Claire shook her head. “I wouldn’t dream of it.”

Nathan seemed to accept that answer and went back to looking at the folder. Bennet pulled Claire aside where they were out of earshot. “We need to get Peter there, but I don’t know how to do that.”

“Just ship him over.”

“I can’t do anything without Nathan’s approval first.”

“Can’t we sneak him over there?”

“If I could find a way, then I would.”

“If you’re on our side, then why are you here?”

“Because somebody needs to be on the inside and Nathan doesn’t trust Angela not to betray him.”

“But he’ll trust you?”

“I don’t think he trusts me so much as he wants me on his side.”

“But you’ll get Peter to the facility? You’ll help him save Gabriel?”

Bennet nodded. “I knew about the split personality from the beginning. We used that to our advantage and that’s why he became a killer - because we made him that way. The Company did and I regret doing that now. I regret a lot of things I’ve done.”

“But at one point you were ready to kill him.”

“If I killed him, then I would have stopped Sylar,” Bennet replied. “Killing an innocent man seemed a suitable price for taking out a murderer.”

“But you don’t want to see him dead anymore?”

Bennet shrugged. “I don’t know anymore.”

Peter didn’t see anyone for hours. When the door finally opened, Bennet was on the other side. He walked over and yanked Peter up by the arm and dragged him out of the building. Bennet threw him into the back of the car before driving off. When they were stopped at a red light a few blocks down, Bennet turned around with a knife in his hands and cut through the wires around Peter’s wrists. “We have to do this quickly, before your brother gets back.”

“What do you mean?” Peter asked, rubbing at his wrists.

“You want to save Gabriel, right?” Bennet asked. “Well, I’m going to help you do that, but we have to do it before Nathan returns.” Bennet handed Peter the phone and wallet Nathan’s guards had taken from him earlier, before they put him in the cell.

“Why are you helping me?”

“Because I made a mistake,” Bennet replied.

They made it to the mental treatment facility and Bennet got Peter inside. He directed Peter down to the Gabriel’s cell, but Bennet didn’t follow. “I have to make a diversion and give you some time. So get in there and get out.”

Peter nodded. “Thank you.”

“Don’t mention it.”

Gabriel was curled up in the corner of the cell, huddled in on himself like he was trying to block out the rest of the world. Peter’s heart clenched in his chest to see such misery in his friend’s body language. He felt tears start to his eyes, but he had no time for them as he rushed to Gabriel’s side, kneeling and putting his hand very carefully on the man’s shoulder. He didn’t want to startle him. “Gabriel?” he whispered softly, heartfelt.

Gabriel opened his eyes and looked up at Peter in wonder, like he was seeing an angel come to deliver him from his horror. “Peter?” he rasped, voice rough from disuse.

Peter gave him a gentle smile. “Yeah, it’s me. I‘m going to get you out of here.” Using his telekinesis, Peter managed to break the shackles and helped Gabriel up before pulling him into a tight hug. “Never again.”

Gabriel was a little hesitant as he returned the hug. “Never again, what?”

“You are never getting kidnapped again,” Peter replied, looking into Gabriel’s soft brown eyes. “I’ll make sure of that.”

Peter then leaned in and ever so softly pressed his lips against Gabriel’s. Gabriel froze up and Peter pulled back when he noticed the lack of a response. His mind flashed to the possibility that Gabriel might not return his feelings. He quickly squashed those thoughts - really it just wasn’t the right time to be exploring their feelings. His first priority was to get Gabriel out of there. There was plenty of time later for other things. “I’m sorry. We should get out of here. Let’s go.”

Peter started to turn away when Gabriel wrapped an arm around his waist and kept him in place. Peter looked up at him, an unspoken question in his eyes. Gabriel moved his free hand to the back of Peter’s head and tangled his fingers in Peter’s hair before leaning in and kissing him.

It was just a gentle press of lips against his own, but Gabriel grew bolder when Peter returned the kiss. Peter ran his hands up Gabriel’s arms, placing them on his shoulders. He was still in a bit of shock. As much as he’d been dreaming about this moment, he couldn’t believe that it was actually happening.

Gabriel pulled Peter even closer, his hand caressing along Peter’s lower back. Peter definitely couldn’t have dreamed of a better first kiss than this. He felt his knees grow weaker and he leaned against Gabriel for more support, which Gabriel gladly gave.

After what felt like an eternity, Gabriel finally pulled away and pressed his forehead against Peter’s. They were both equally breathless, and Peter couldn’t help but let out a small laugh. He felt Gabriel began to pull away, and he held him tighter. “No. I’m not laughing at you.” He kissed him again. “We should really get out of here.”

Gabriel moved one of his hands to Peter’s cheek and gave him another kiss. “Thank you, for saving me.”

“I knew you two were fucking,” Nathan growled out, startling both of them.

Gabriel immediately began to cower in fear. Peter turned around and stood in front of him, protecting him. Peter felt disgusted at the sight of Nathan. “Nathan.”

“You would really side with a monster over your own brother, Pete?” Nathan asked. “I thought you wanted to save the world?”

Peter reached back and laced his fingers with Gabriel’s. “The only monster in this room is you, Nathan. Gabriel is a good person and I would side with him any day over you if this is your plan for specials. You can’t lock us all up, and you can’t decide who’s dangerous and who’s not. No one can.”

“Well, we’ll just have to see about that,” Nathan said, pulling a gun out of his pocket. He aimed it right at Gabriel’s chest. “Now, won’t we.”

Peter’s eyes widened and he pushed Gabriel out of the way just as Nathan pulled the trigger. The bullet missed, bouncing off the sink and hitting Peter in the shoulder. Peter cried out in agony and fell to the floor, clutching at his wound.

Gabriel’s eyes darkened. Peter reached out his hand, but he couldn‘t reach the man that he had come to know so well. “Don’t let him out.”

But it was too late. Peter’s hand was knocked aside before Nathan was thrown through the window, smacking his head hard against the concrete wall. Peter’s eyes widened and he yelled in alarm. “Sylar!”

Sylar yanked Peter up by his good shoulder and pushed him out of the room. “Let’s go before he wakes up, or better yet, the re-enforcements come.”

Peter pulled out of Sylar’s grip. “Did you have to knock him out? I could have talked to him.”

“Your brother just fucking shot you! Don‘t tell me that you could have talked to him,” Sylar yelled, shoving Peter. “Now get going before I decide to just kill him.”

“You wouldn’t!”

“Move!”

And when Peter didn’t budge, Sylar grabbed him by the arm and dragged him out of the cell. When they made it out of the building, Sylar turned Peter to face him. “Take healing before you leave even more of a blood trail than you already have.”

Peter closed his eyes and got the ability he wanted, the wound on his shoulder instantly healing. As soon as it did, Sylar grabbed his arm once more and started to drag him away again. “We need to get you out of here. Somewhere safe. Is there anyone you can trust?”

Peter thought of Bennet and Claire but that would probably be the first place that Nathan would look. So he thought of something outrageous. “My mother.”

“Your mother?!” Sylar said. “Are you fucking crazy?”

Peter shook his head. “It’ll be the last place Nathan looks. Trust me.”

Sylar gave him a look that told Peter he didn’t approve of the idea, but nodded anyway. “Fine, but you get to talk to her.”

Peter grabbed his phone out of his pocket and got a hold of Angela. She wasn’t happy with them, but gave them the address of a hotel that she and Arthur had used when they were in D.C.

They made their way there and Peter gave the clerk his mother’s name. In return they were handed a card key. Once in the room, Peter rounded on Sylar. “Give him back control.”

There was annoyance in Sylar’s eyes before they softened. It was this that let Peter know that Gabriel was with him again. He reached out and pulled Gabriel into a hug. “You’re safe now.”

Gabriel returned the hug for a moment before pulling away, his hand finding the bullet hole in Peter’s jacket. “You were shot.”

Peter shrugged his jacket off and pulled the collar of his shirt away. Gabriel ran his fingers over the smooth skin where the bullet hole used to be. “How?”

“Sylar made me take healing, said he didn’t want me leaving a blood trail,” Peter said. “Don’t see why he didn’t just kill me and be done with it.” Peter stopped talking when he noticed that Gabriel wasn’t really paying attention to what he was saying. He placed his hand over Gabriel’s. “Gabe?”

Gabriel pulled back suddenly and turned away. “I-I um..I need a shower.” He scurried off towards the bathroom, leaving Peter feeling a little confused. Then it hit him. They were alone in a hotel room with a single bed, and they had shared their first kiss not too long ago. Peter smiled to himself before sitting on the edge of the bed. He wasn’t really surprised that Gabriel was freaking out a bit.

Peter stripped off his ruined shirt and tried to wipe away some of the blood. He gave up after realizing the blood was too dry and decided to wait until Gabriel was out of the shower so he could get a washcloth. The phone by the bed went off, making Peter jump. He hesitated before reaching over and answering. “Hello?”

“Peter, you made it to the hotel alright?” Angela asked.

“Yes.”

“I want you to know that I don’t approve of anything that you’re doing.”

“Then why are you helping me?”

“While I may not agree with your tactics, I do believe that Nathan needs to be stopped,” Angela replied.

“Then why haven’t you tried?”

“I have, Peter,” Angela said. “I have been trying for awhile now, but you know how stubborn you Petrelli men are. Nathan won’t stop any more than you will. Not until he gets what he wants.”

“I still don’t know why you’re helping us.”

“Everything I do is for a reason, Peter,” Angela said. “Now, there are should be some clothes in that room. I called ahead and had some delivered for you two. Have a nice night.”

“Mom-”

“Goodbye, Peter.”

The line went dead and Peter hung up, feeling a bit defeated. The shower turned off and a few minutes later, Gabriel reappeared in the room. The clothes Peter’s mother mentioned must have been in the bathroom because Gabriel was in a new pair of pants. It also looked as though Sylar had regenerated their body when he had taken over, earlier. Gabriel stuttered, “I-if you need the shower, you can have it.”

“Actually if you could just hand me a damp cloth then I can just wipe this blood away.”

Gabriel disappeared again and when he came back out he handed a washcloth over to Peter. Peter wiped all the blood off his skin, aware of the fact that Gabriel’s eyes were roaming over his chest. When he looked up, Gabriel quickly looked away with his cheeks flushed. Peter patted the spot next to him. “Sit down, Gabriel.”

Gabriel sat down next to him, arms wrapped tightly around his chest in a sign of insecurity. When Gabriel said nothing, Peter asked, “What’s on your mind?”

Gabriel shrugged. “Nothing.”

“Something,” Peter teased.

Gabriel looked up at him. “What if we just ran away? Just you and me? Get away from all of this.”

“You want to run away?”

Gabriel nodded. “I just-we don’t have to fight anymore. I just want it all to be over. I mean, even if we manage to stop Nathan, there is eventually going to be someone else out to get specials. There will always be somebody out there.”

Peter thought over Gabriel’s words for a moment. “Where would we go?”

Gabriel shrugged. “Italy? Paris? Finland? Does it really matter?”

“The problem is, if we left, my brother would hunt us down,” Peter said. “Do you really want to spend the rest of your life being hunted?”

“Like I said, there will always be someone after us, Peter.”

“And you want to spend your time running with me?”

“Nobody wants to be lonely, Peter,” Gabriel said, with a confidence that Peter hadn’t seen before. “And you are the only person who actually wants to be around me and not for reasons that benefit them. To tell the truth, you’re the only real friend that I’ve ever had.”

“And is that all I am?” Peter asked before he could stop himself. “Just your friend?”

“Is there something else you’d rather be?”

“Think of earlier,” Peter said. “When I came into your cell.” Gabriel’s cheeks flushed once more and Peter leaned in close. “Now answer your own question.”

Gabriel brought his hand up to Peter’s chest and pushed him away. “No. Not unless you promise me that we don’t have to fight Nathan anymore, that we don’t have to fight anyone.”

“Gabe,” Peter said softly. “I can’t do that.”

“I don’t want to have any part of this fight between all the specials. I don’t want to partake in any more violence! I just want to live a normal life for once!” Gabriel said. “You saved me and I thank you for that, but I can’t just go back there. And I can’t spend the rest of my life fighting.”

“Then you don’t have to,” Peter replied. “You can stay here and I can go take care of Nathan. I need to stop him.”

“Peter, you really don’t understand do you?” Gabriel said. “I would follow you anywhere.”

“And why is that?”

“I don’t want to see you get hurt again,” Gabriel said. “I want to be there to make sure that you’re safe.”

“I’ll be fine. I’ll just hold on to healing.”

“You can still die, Peter,” Gabriel said. “Even with healing. If they decapitate you, then you will die. And I don’t think that I could handle that. I think that I would lose control.”

“Then I won’t go,” Peter said, reaching over and taking Gabriel’s hand. “I won’t leave you alone.”

“You mean that?”

Peter nodded. “Yes, I mean that.”

Gabriel smiled and leaned in, pressing his lips against Peter’s. Peter kissed him back, wrapping his arms around Gabriel’s neck and pulling him closer.

************************

Dawn was breaking over the city and Peter lay propped up on his elbows as he watched Gabriel sleep. Mentally, he was kicking himself over what he had promised Gabriel the previous night. He really did want to run off with Gabriel and he wanted to see the world with him and have the best life that they could. The only problem was that Peter didn’t think they could achieve the possibility of a happy life together when they would have to be looking over their shoulders all the time. Gabriel deserved security and stability and if that meant that Peter would have to go back on his promise, then that was just what Peter was going to do.

He leaned over and pressed his lips ever so gently to Gabriel’s before he got out of bed and found the clothes his mother had mentioned the night before. He pulled on his jacket and gave a last remorseful look at Gabriel before leaving the room. He hand lingered on the door for a few minutes while he thought about just how much Gabriel would be hurt by his actions.

He took a cab to Building 26 and walked right in, ready for what could be his final confrontation with his brother. He was immediately confronted by a security guard. It didn’t take long till he managed to cause a big enough commotion to draw his brother out.

He was being held back when Nathan turned the corner. His eyes were cold and he snarled when spoke. “Peter.”

“Nathan,” Peter said with anger.

“I thought you ran away with your tail between your legs. What happened?”

“I think it’s time that we have a nice long chat,” Peter replied. “Just you and me.”

“And how do you propose we do that?”

“Tell them to let me go and we can go talk,” Peter indicated the guards with a jerk of his chin.

“And how do I know that you won’t turn on me once we’re alone?”

“Even if I say I won’t, you’ll never believe me.”

Nathan nodded towards the guards. “Let him go.”

“But sir,” the one on Peter’s left started.

“I’ll be fine,” Nathan said with disdain. “If I need you, then I’ll call for you. Come on, Peter.”

Once they were alone, Peter rounded on his brother. “So tell me, do your faithful followers know about your ability? Or have you failed to mention it to them?”

Nathan shoved Peter against the wall, his arm pressed against Peter’s neck, choking him. Nathan leaned in close, his words cold. “I told you to stay out of my way, Peter.”

“Why? You would have rounded me up eventually,” Peter managed to get out. “Along with Claire and our mother.”

Nathan’s hold got tighter. “They would have been safe if it weren’t for you. I was trying to protect our family. And something I discovered while going through the Company records is that you aren’t actually part of the family, Peter. That makes you expendable! You’re not a Petrelli. You’re just a reminder that Ma couldn’t keep her legs closed!”

“Do you even know what family means, Nathan?” Peter spit out. “Because I think that you and I have two completely different meanings of the word.” Peter kneed his brother sharply in the groin, making Nathan grunt and release his hold. “If I wasn‘t family, then Arthur wouldn‘t have allowed me in his home. He wouldn‘t have allowed me to call him my father.” He kicked Nathan in the chest as hard as he could.

Peter looked down at his brother who was clutching his chest and staring up at Peter. Peter knelt down and grabbed Nathan by the collar of his shirt and yanked him up so that they were face to face. “Call it all off, Nathan. Let all the specials go. Do the right thing for once.”

“What makes you think I’m not doing the right thing?” Nathan spit out.

“It’s called karma, Nathan and it’s going to come around and bite you in the ass if you continue down this road.”

Nathan seemed to think about it for a moment. “What if I let you off the hook instead? You and that … that thing.”

Peter growled at him. “He has a name.”

Nathan huffed. “I’ll let you and Gabriel go, if you promise not to interfere any more. You can run off to the other side of the world and I promise that I won’t follow.”

Peter closed his eyes. He really, really wanted Nathan to stop the search, but he came here with Gabriel in mind. He came here so that he could have a life with someone he loved. Peter nodded and stopped up. “You better keep your word, brother.” Peter started to walk away and spotted Gabriel by the door. “How did you-”

Gabriel’s expression shifted to alarmed and he yelled, “PETER!”

Peter didn’t have enough time to turn around before he was thrown to the ground and Nathan was on top of him. Nathan wrapped his hands around Peter’s throat, cutting off his air supply. Gabriel started to step forward when Nathan tightened his grip. “Take another step and I will snap his fucking neck.”

Peter began to tug at Nathan’s arms as his head began to swim. “Nate...”

Nathan looked down at him, but didn’t loosen his grip. “You shouldn’t have saved me that night at Pinehearst, Peter. You should have just let me die in that building. Let us both die. It would have been better than me finding out the truth about you!”

Peter struggled for a last breath, feeling his eyelids droop and his head pound. It was as his eyes were shutting and he was about to pass out that Nathan was violently shoved off of him. Peter sat up, coughing and gasping for air. He caught sight of Nathan and Gabriel fighting and watched as Gabriel began to raise his hand, his finger extended.

“Gabriel, no!” Peter shouted.

But it was too late. Nathan was now clutching his neck as blood poured out of it. Peter watched in horror as his brother stumbled back and fell back into the chair. Peter’s heart felt like it was being ripped out of his chest. “Nathan…”

Peter could just barely register Gabriel apologizing over and over. Gabriel moved in front of him, kneeling before him. “Peter, I’m sorry. I-I-”

The tears came and Peter placed his face in his hands. His brother was gone. Even despite all that Nathan had done, Peter still felt like he’d been cut open. No matter what Nathan had done recently, no matter what he’d said about disowning him, Peter still saw him as his brother and the man he had looked up to for so many years. Gabriel placed his hand on Peter’s shoulder, but he violently shoved it off. “Don’t touch me! Don’t you dare fucking touch me!” He shoved Gabriel away as hard as he could. “Get the fuck away from me!”

The pain and hurt in Gabriel’s eyes was hard to miss, but Peter tried to ignore it as much as he could. He got up from the floor and walked over to his brother’s body. He reached out and closed Nathan’s eyelids, before wrapping his arms around him and crying even harder.

He could hear Gabriel walking closer and he looked up. Gabriel stopped in his tracks when he saw the pained look in Peter‘s eyes. “Peter, please listen to me.”

“He was my brother, Gabriel! My brother! And you killed him!”

“He was hurting you!” Gabriel called out, in anguish. “I did it to protect you!”

“You could have found another way to do it!” Peter turned away from Gabriel and cradled at the body of his brother. “We could have-He could have been locked up or….” Peter couldn‘t finish, couldn‘t even think clearly with his grief. “He was my brother, my family…”

Gabriel walked up to him and ripped Peter away from Nathan. Peter shouted and tried to push Gabriel away. “Let me go!” He looked up and found himself staring into the eyes of a killer. “Sylar...”

“You should listen to him when he talks,” Sylar said. “He did it to protect you and now you’ve upset him.”

“Sylar, let go of me. Now.”

“You are going to listen to me. That monster in the chair doesn’t deserve to be your brother and deep down you know that,” Sylar hissed out. “He was hurting you and Gabriel was trying to protect you. He loves you, Peter. That’s something else that I know you know. Now I’m going to give him back control and you are going to apologize to him and then get the fuck out of here.”

“Nathan may have been a monster, but he was still my brother and I loved him.” Peter wanted to agree with Sylar and he knew he was right, but all he could think of was that he’d lost the man who’d practically been a father to him.

Sylar raised his hand and Peter flinched. “Apologize to Gabriel. Don’t make him feel horrible for saving you.” Sylar leaned in closer, his voice a mere whisper. “Don’t ever hurt Gabriel again, or I will kill you myself.”

Peter looked at him, his eyes wide. “Gabriel wouldn’t allow you to do that.”

“Gabriel won’t be able to stop me. Now I’m trying to be nice to you, no matter how much I want to rip your throat out. Don’t hurt him again.”

Sylar closed his eyes and when he reopened them, they were softer. He looked at Peter in confusion. “Peter?”

Gently, Peter pushed him away. His voice was strained and thick. His shoulders shook slightly with suppressed sobs. “You shouldn’t be here. I can’t deal with this right now, Gabriel. Give me some time, please. Nathan’s dead,” he said voice cracking as he looked over at the body with renewed anguish, pain and remorse lining his face because he knew this was all his fault. If only he’d taken Gabriel’s advice and run away with him, Nathan would still be alive. “You have to leave, before they find you here.”

“Peter-”

“Just leave.”

A tear fell down Gabriel’s face as he turned away. Peter walked back over to his brother and knelt down beside him. He reached out and touched his brother’s hand, feeling the tears coming back full force once more. He pressed his forehead against the arm of the chair and just sobbed.

And that was exactly how his mother found him. She screamed at the sight of her older son and ran to him, shaking his shoulder. “Nathan? Nathan? Nathan!”

Peter reached out and grabbed her wrist. “He’s gone, Mom. He’s gone and it’s my fault.”

“Of course, it’s your fault,” Angela snapped, pushing Peter away from Nathan. “I told you this would happen, Peter. I told you to make the right choice. I told you to stay out of it.”

“I know, Ma!” Peter yelled out. “I know I fucked up big time. Do you think that I want Nathan dead? Do you?”

“Sometimes your judgments are wrong Peter,” Angela hissed out. “I told you before that this would end in Nathan’s death, but you refused to listen to me.” She roughly shoved Peter. “Get out of here, Peter. Get out of here and never step foot in front of me again.”

Peter took a step back. He had never felt so disconnected from his own family. It was like the whole world was turning against him and the only person who loved him, he’d made leave. “I loved my brother, Ma. I never wanted this. You know that I would never want this.”

Peter took one last look at his brother before walking out of the room. He made it about a block away before he broke down once more on a bench. For the first time in his life he felt truly alone. And even though Gabriel had murdered his brother, he really wished he had him there with him at the moment. He just needed someone.

When Peter finally made it back home a few days later, he was worn out both physically and emotionally. He collapsed on his couch and let out a sigh, he was too tired to cry anymore, so he just lay there. His mother wasn’t speaking to him, Bennet was keeping Claire away from him and his brother was dead. Not only that but he had lost Gabriel. He couldn’t find him anywhere in D.C.

“Gabriel, I was wrong,” Peter muttered. “I really wish you were here right now.”

A shadow caught his eye and he looked up to see Gabriel standing near the bedroom. There was a sadness in his eyes and he looked ready to bolt. “I don’t see why you want me here.”

“You were right, nobody wants to be lonely and I’ve lost everyone I’ve ever cared about. Don’t make me lose you too.”

“I killed your brother.”

Peter walked over to him and ignored the fact that it was spiking up Gabriel’s anxiety. He placed his hands on Gabriel’s arms. “I remember my brother being something else entirely. He hasn’t been the same since my father died. Grief makes people do desperate things and hurt those they love the most.”

“You’re only saying that to make me not feel so bad.”

“No, I’m not,” Peter said. “You’re not a bad person, Gabriel. You were just protecting me.”

“I feel like I should go turn myself in,” Gabriel mumbled. “I feel like I should be locked up. I killed somebody, Peter, someone that you loved very much.”

“It was all my fault. I shouldn’t have left the hotel room without talking it over with you. You didn’t deserve that. I just woke up and felt so powerless to keep you safe, from being kidnapped again and I thought if we ran away, that Nathan would be after us forever. So I went back thinking I could talk him out of it. I didn’t realize how far gone he was, or how much he hated me. I didn’t think he’d try to kill me!” Peter shook his head, glad, in a way, that he was too emotionally drained to cry about it anymore. “I’m so sorry I hurt you. I was hurting, too. I wasn’t thinking. I should have been.” He took a step closer and wrapped his arms around Gabriel’s neck, resting his head against Gabriel’s shoulder. “I love you. I turned my back on my family for you, Gabriel. I risked my life to get you back. That has to mean something to you.”

“It does mean a lot to me,” Gabriel replied, as he wrapped his arms around Peter’s waist. “And-and I love you too, I just feel so horrible for what I did. Do you really want me to stay here with you?”

“I want you by my side for however long you want to be there,” Peter said.

“You do know that if you’ll have to deal with Sylar as well, right?”

“Can I ask you something?”

Gabriel nodded. “Anything.”

“Why did he allow you to have control back?”

“Because Sylar craved having a family just as much as I did,” Gabriel replied. “When Angela had us believing that we were related, Sylar allowed me to share in that feeling, but he had locked me away again shortly after he killed Elle. After that, I fought as hard as I could to see you again. Because something inside of me told me that you would accept me, and that you would save me.”

“And did I … save you?” Peter asked softly, holding Gabriel just a bit tighter.

“Sylar’s been getting gradually weaker,” Gabriel said. “And it’s because I finally found someone who cared about me. I found you.”

Peter smiled as he felt his heart swell. He leaned in and kissed Gabriel softly. “Then you’ll run away with me?”

“And where are we running off to?”

“Where ever you want to go.”


End file.
